Vehicular tippler



March 26, 1963 H. EICHLER 3,082,888

VEHICULAR TIPPLER Filed July 19, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 26, 1963 vH. EICHLER VEHICULAR TIPPLER Filed July 19, 1960 5 Sheets5heet 2 7 v rHerbe'r t Eichler INVENTOR.

March 26, 1963 H. EICHLER VEHICULAR TIPPLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July19. 1960 March 26, 1963 "H. EICHLER VEHICULAR TIPPLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed July 19. 1960 INVENTOR: Herberr Eichler March 26, 1963 H. EICHLERVEHICULAR TIPPLER 5 Sheets-Sheet s MMHH INVENTOR.

Herbert Eichler Filed July 19, 1960 United States Patent "ice 3,982,888VEIHCULAR TLPPLER Herbert Eichler, Leipzig, Germany, assignor to VEBSchwermaschinenhan S. M. Kirow, Leipzig, Germany, a corporation ofGermany Filed July 19, 1960, Ser. No. 43,776

13 (Ilaims. (Q1. 214-55) My present invention relates to dumpers, suchas rotary tipplers and side dumpers, for freight vehicles such asopen-top railroad cars.

In railroad-car tipplers employed heretofore, an opentop car (e.g. coal,ore, mine or hopper car) was seized between two movable walls which wereurged against the sides of the car by hydraulic pistons. When thetippler was rotated the entire weight of the car and its contents restedon one of the movable walls, thereby transmitting an increase inpressure throughout the hydraulic system.

' The components of the hydraulic system had to be designed to withstandthe increase in pressure and, therefore, were relatively expensive,while the walls could be safely used only with straight-walled cars.

Other rotary tipplers and side-dumping devices made use of jaw clampsand similar locking members to secure the cars while they were tilted toone side or rotated for emptying. The clamps and locking members wereusually complex and costly to maintain and, frequently, were notadaptable to outsized railroad cars.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedrailroad-car tippler adapted to dump open-top cars of virtually any sizeor shape.

It is another object of my invention to provide a rotary tippler forrailroad cars which is adapted to operate at relatively high speeds witha minimum of maintenance.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an improvedautomatic control system for a railroad-car dumper.

According to a feature of the invention, a railroad-car tippler ordumper comprises a movable tiltable unit, generally in the shape of acage, including a platform provided with track-s alignable with thetracks of a siding or the like and adapted to carry the open-top car.The platform is displaceable along the bottom of the cage in a directiontransverse to the rails whereby one of the longitudinal sides of the carcarried thereon may be brought into contact with a first wall rigid withthe cage while 'a second 'wall, opposite the first wall and transverselymovable with respect thereto, is brought into contact with the otherlongitudinal side of the car. This unit is then rotated about ahorizontal axis so that the weight of the car and its contents rests onits fixed wall which may be suitably reinforced to carry the load.

According to another feature of the present invention, I provide each ofthe walls with clamping members which are displaceable thereon intoengagement with the upper edges of the car whereby the latter may besecured as the tippler rotates through car-tilting angles in excess of90. The tippler may accommodate cars of any width between its movablewall and its fixed wall, and of any height between the platform and theclamping members. The latter may be elongated bars which are maintainedparallel to the edges of the car as they are displaced into engagementtherewith. V

A more specific feature of the invention resides inthe provision ofhydraulic working cylinders, fed by one or more motor-drivenfluid-pressure pumps, for the purpose of displacing the tiltable unit asa whole, its movable wall and the clamping members ill-response to these quential actuation of regulating valves which may be operatedmanually or by automatic valve-control apparatus preferably includingfollower means responsive 3,982,888 Patented Mar. 26, 1963 to the motionof the angular portion of the tippler. Conversely, the tilting mechanismmay be so interlocked with the clamping means as to prevent any rotationof the tippler beyond a safe angle of tilt until the car is secured.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of my presentinvention will become more readily apparent from the following specificdescription of a rotary tippler, reference being made to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top-plan view of the tippler;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IH-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4'is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the car thereof engaged bythe walls and clamping members of the tippler;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a hydraulic control system for thetippler; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an electrical actuating circuit for the controlsystem of FIG. 5.

In FIGS. 14 I show a rotary tippler 4t) positioned in a pit 260' along aline of railway track 42 whereby an open-top railway car may enter andleave the tippler 40. A car of this type is shown in cross-section at 1in FIGS. 3 and 4. The tippler 49' comprises a cage 41 consistingessentially of a base 55, inverted L-shaped uprights 41a, U-shapedupright 41b, a ring 43 at its entrance and a ring 45 at its exit end.Ring 43 is circumferentially supported and rotatably displaceable, alongwith the rest of cage 41, on a plurality of rollers 44, journaled in asupport structure 46 below ground level, which engage the ring 43 alongits periphery. Similarly, ring 45 is supported by rollers 47 which arejournaled in a support structure 4-8. A ring gear 49 is secured to thering 45 and is in mesh with the pinion gear 50 of a drive motor 51,adapted to rotate the tippler reversibly from its normal uprightposition to its dump position. A pair of longitudinal girders 41c, 41cinterconnect the rings 43, 45 and the uprights 41a, 41!).

A car platform .3, in cage 4-1, is provided with a pair of rails 2 whichare aligned with the external rails 42 when the tippler is in itsuntilted position; this platform is displaceable in a directiontransverse to the axis of the tippler upon a pair of rollers 54journaled in the base 55 'of the cage 41. Only the topmost portion ofeach roller 54 protrudes through the floor 5160f the base 55 to engagethe bottom of platform 3. A hydraulic cylinder 7 is secured to the base55 at 57 and has a piston 7a which is aifixed to the platform 3 wherebythe latter may be displaced so that the car 1, carried on the platform3, may be drawn against a wall 8 which is rigid with the base 55 andthus forms an integral part of the cage 41, and is constituted by thevertical positions of the uprights 41a, 41b and a lattice oflongitudinal bars 8:: and 8b (best seen in FIG. 2).

. Opposite the fixed wall 8, on the other side of platform 3, I providea movable wall consisting of two longitudinally spaced sections 11 eachcomprising a central external flange 59 and a pair of slotted uprights63 rising from a horizontal beam 62. A pair of link bars 10 are providedon each side of each flange 59,.the bars 10 being individually pivotedthereto at 60. The other extremity of each bar 10 is pivoted at 61 toone of two extensions 55a of base 55, thereby forming aparallelogrammatic linkage between the movable wall sections 11 and thebase which maintains these sections parallel to the opposing wall 8 asthe sections are displaced toward car 1 which is positioned on platform3 between the movable and stationary walls of cage 41. Two hydrauliccylinders 9, rigidly secured to the base portions 55a, have 3 pistons 9a(FIG. which bear upon their respective wall sections 11 in order todisplace them parallel to themselves. Pistons 9a are secured to theflanges 59 via respective ball joints.

A clamping member in the form of a bar 14 is carried by twolongitudinally spaced brackets 13 which are guided in the slots 68before the respective uprights 63 for each wall section 11. The brackets13 are pivoted to respective lever arms64 at one extremity thereof.Hydraulic cylinders '12, hingedly connected to the beam 62, have pistons12a which are pivoted to the other extremities of the two levers 64 ofeach section 11. Each lever 64 is articulated at a point 66,intermediate its extremities, to a link 67 which is also hingedlyconnected to the beam 62 whereby the simultaneous advance of the pistons12a will lower the clamping bar 14 while maintaining it parallel to theedge of the car 1.

A similar pair of clamping bars 14' are vertically displaceable alongthe stationary wall 8. Their brackets 13' are guided'in the-slotteduprights 41a of the stationary wall while their hydraulic cylinders 12'and their links 67 are hingedly connected to the base 55. The pistons12a of cylinders 12 bear upon levers 64 which are articulated to links67 so that the bars 14' operate analogously to the bars .14.

system ltil, will make one complete revolution for each forward andreturn stroke of the tippler 40.

In operation, switch 102, which may be operated manually when a ladenopen-top car 1 has entered the tippler 40 or which may be tripped by thecar itself, is closed, thus completing a circuit through the coil of arelay 103 to close the switches 163a, 1031;, 1030 of that relay. Switch103a closes a circuit which includes an A.-C. source 121 to activate theleader-follower synch'ro network 97 and 98 while switch 10311 activatesthe motor 70 which drives the hydraulic pump 71 and switch 1030 closes acircuit through switch 104a, operated by cam disc 100e, to the motor 51which drives the tippler. Switch 162 must be held closed for a periodsufficient to permit the rotation of the tippler and the simultaneousdisplacement of the cam shaft whereby cam disc 1001) may close a switch10711 which establishes a circuit through a holding coil 109 to maintainthe switch 102 in its closed position until. the completion of thetippler cycle. The circuit of motor 51 also includes the normally closedswitch 122a of a time-delay relay 122, whose coil is energized via theseries-connected, normally closed contact switches 'The tippler-controlsystem shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 7 comprises a gear-type pressure pump 71,driven by an electric motor 70, which siphons fluid from a reservoir 72and feeds a control valve 75 whose shiftable piston is connected to asolenoid 75a, adapted toactuate the valve. A pressure-regulating safetyvalve 73 is connected between the outlet of pump 71 and a returntransmission tube 74 which empties into the reservoir 72. The valve 75'acts as a terminusfor a high-pressure transmission line 81 which isprovided with a check valve 82'to prevent reverse flow, and for a fluidconduit 83 which terminates in a valve 76; the latter valve, having anactuating solenoid 76a, serves to distribute the fluid from this conduitto two outlet tubes 84 and 85. Another conduit 86 connects the valve 76with the return tube 74. The highpressure line 81 feeds two identicalvalves 77 and 77' which are actuated by solenoids 77a and 77arespectively. Each valve 77, 77- is the terminus for a respective tube89, 89' which may be selectively connected with its highpressure inlet87, 87' or with a return tube 88, 88' connected with the return tube 74.Tube 89 feeds the hydraulic cylinders 12 behind their pistons 12a viashut-ofi valves 16 whereas tube 89' feeds the cylinders 12' behind.

their pistons 12a via shut-off valves 16'. The cylinders 12 and 1?. areprovided with return-flow tubes 91, 91

and regulatable check valves 92, 92 respectively, along 7 these tubes.

The tube 84 is connected to. the cylinder 9 behind its.

piston 9a and tothe cylinder 7 in front of its piston 7a while the tube85 is connected to the cylinder 9 viara regulatable check valve 93 and athrottle valve 94 in front of the piston 9a .and to the cylinder 7rearwardly of its piston 7a via a regulating check valve 95.

The electrical control system for the tippler (FIG. 6) comprises aprogramming mechanism in the form of a sequence switch 100 whose camdiscs 100a, with, 100g,

190d and 100s actuate associated switch members .to open and'closecircuits through the solenoids from a battery 96. The cam shaft isrotated by a follower synchro 97 which is coupled with a leader synchro98 ofla type well ;known per se. The shaft of theleader synchro isrotated 'unidirectionally by the reciprocatingmotion of the tippler 40which makes a 180 revolution on its axis and then returns inthe oppositedirection. The unidirectional mo-.

tion is accomplished via two pawls 99a, 99b, coupled to the ring gear 49by a step-down transmission system 99,

' positions.

each of which engages a respectivetoothedwheel 161a,

1011) during each half of thereciprocating cycle of the tippler wherebythe cam shaft'of synchro 9:7, geared to theishaft of wheels 101a,101li'via a step-up transmission 120, 12% carried by the clamping bars14, 14, respectively. A cycle-cut-off switch 130 is in series with coil10-9.

Concurrently with the actuation of motor 51, hydraulic fluid underpressure from pump 71 flows via valve through conduit 33 to the valve 76whence it is transmitted to the hydraulic cylinders 7 and 9 by way oftube 84. A fluid-return path from these cylinders to the reservoir '72is established by way of conduit 85, valve 76 and tube 86. The platform3 carrying the car 1 is thus displaced until a side of the carencounters the fixed wall 8 and the movable wall sections 11 aredisplaced until they abut the other longitudinal side of the car. Aftersufficient time to insure the clamping of the car 1 between the movableand the stationary wall, cam disc 100a closes a switch 108 whichenergizes solenoid 75a to pressurize the fiuid-transmission line 81while cam disc 10% closes a switch 14%6'11 to complete a circuit throughone winding of solenoid 76a, thus blocking the tubes 84'and whichterminate in valve 76 to lock the pistons 9d and 7a. At the same time,cam 'disc 163a closes switch 1 5a to energize the solenoids 77a, 77awhich thereupon permits a pressurized flow of fluid through the valves77, 77' to the cylinders 12, '12, while fluid flows from the cylindersto the reservoir 72 via tubes 91, 91' and 88, 88 so that the clampingbars 14, 14. are brought into engagement with the upper edge ofthecar 1. In series with solenoids 77a, 770', however, I provide a pair ofswitches 1-10, 110' which are respectively carried by the movable wall11 and the stationary wall 8 and which close only when both walls engagethe car so that the clamping bars 14, 14' are operative only when thetwo walls contact the'car. A

When cylinders 12, 12 are pressurized via tubesS9, 89', the check valves92 and 92' block the tubes 91 and 91', respectively. The valves 92 and92' also operate to permit only a limited flow of fluid under pressureto the forward chambers 12b, 12b of cylinders 12, 12' when the bars 14,14 are to be raised from their clamping Thechambers 12b, 12!)" containrespective air spaces which are compressed by t'heaforward motion of thepistons 12a, 12a as-the clamping bars 14, 14' are lowered and whichexpand when the tubes 89, 89' are connected with the return tubes 88, 88via the valves 77, 77'; When the cage'41 is rotated through an angle inexcess of the undercarriage springs of car 1, previously compressedunder the weight of its load, urge the walls of the car against theclamping bars 1-4, 14;, thereby compressing further the air contained inthe chambers 12b, 12b' of clamping cylinders 12, 12. The air spaces thuspermit at least partial relaxation of the undercarriage springs whilethe load is being dumped and, there 122a in order to halt the motor 51and to cease the tippler cycle if, after a period sufficient to insurethe engagement of the car by clamping bars 14, 14', the contact switches120, 120, carried by these bars, are not open-circuited by contact withthe top edge of the car 1.

Rotation of the tippler 40 and the cam shaft of the sequence switch 100continues until cam disc 100*e opens switch 104a and closes switch 104bto reverse the motor; the continued rotation of the cam shaft during thereturn stroke of the motor 51 effects the opening of switch 105a and theclosing of a switch 105!) to reverse the action of cylinders 12, 12'.Subsequently, the switch 1062: is closed to reverse the action ofcylinders 7 and 9 and to restore the tippler to its normal positionwhereby the rails 42 and 2 are once more aligned so that the empty car 1may be rolled out of the pit 200.

I also provide a valve 111 which is operated by a solenoid-111a whoseenergizing switch 107b is closed by cam disc 100b, after the movablewall and the stationary wall are embracing the car, to permit a flow offluid under pressure via a regulating valve 112 to controlled throttlevalves 16, 16'. The speed of the clamping bars 14, 14' may then beregulated by adjusting valve 112. The throttle valve 94 is actuated toblock flow through the tube 85 from the cylinder 9, when the movablewall section 11 engages the car, by the rise in pressure behind theimmobilized piston 9a. The adjustable valves 92, 92' serve to damp thedisplacement of platform 3 while the tippler is returning to itsstarting position.

Preferably, the sequence switch coupled by the leaderfollower synchros"9-7 and 98 to the motion of the tippler 40 should be so designed thatthe motion of the movable wall sections 11 and the platform 3, in adirection transverse to the axis of the tippler, should cease when thetippler has been inclined at an angle of about 8 to the vertical fromits rest position and that the downward movement of the clamping bars14, 14' to engage the edges of the car should be completed when thetippler has reached an inclination of 60-". In FIG. 4 I show the tipplerafter a clockwise rotation to an inclination of 60. The tippler proceedsthrough a full 180, to discharge the contents of the car 1, and thenrotates in the counterclockwise direction until it reaches aninclination of 70 to the vertical whereupon the tubes 89, 89' of thecylinders 12, 12' are communicated with the reservoir to permit theexpansion of the air cushions within these cylinders against the pistons12a, 12a, thereby withdrawing the clamping bars 14, 14' from engagementwith the car.

It will be readily apparent that means (e.g. hand-operated switches) maybe provided in place of or in addition to the automatic sequence switchso that the tippler may be operated in the event of failure of thecontrol system or whenever a different sequence of operations isdesired. The control system shown may be extended to any number ofparallel installations for dumping railroad cars.

The invention described and illustrated may be readily modified in wayswhich will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art and whichare intended to be included within the spirit and scope of theinvention, except as further limited .by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A vehicular tippler comprising a frame rotatable about alongitudinally extending horizontal axis, a first longitudinal wallrigid with said frame, a second longitudinal wall on said frametransversely spaced from said first wall and movable relatively thereto,a platform displaceably carried on said frame between said walls, saidplatform being provided with vehicle-supporting means, first operatingmeans for transversely displacing said platform on said frame towardsaid first wall until a vehicle carried thereon abuts said first wal-l,second operating means for transversely displacing said second walltoward 6 said first wall until said second wall abuts said vehicle,thereby bracketing the latter between said walls, clamping means on saidwalls displaceable thereon for engaging the vehicle so bracketed fromabove, third operating means for lowering said clamping means intoengagement with said vehicle, and fourth operating means for so rotatingsaid frame with the vehicle thus bracketed and engaged that said vehiclecomes to lie on said first wall.

2. A railroad-car tippler comprising a frame rotatable about alongitudinally extending horizontal axis, a first longitudinal wallrigid with said frame, a second longitudinal wall on said frametransversely spaced from said first wall and movable relatively thereto,a platform displaceably carried on said frame between said walls, saidplatform being provided with longitudinally extending rails forsupporting a railroad car thereon, first operating means fortransversely displacing said platform on said frame toward said firstwall until a railroad car carried thereon abuts said first wall, secondoperating means for transversely displacing said second wall toward saidfirst Wall pntil said second wall abuts said railroad car, therebybracketing the latter between said walls, clamping means on said wallsdisplaceable thereon for engaging the railroad car so bracketed fromabove, third operating means for lowering said clamping means intoengagement with said railroad car, and fourth operating means forso-rotating said frame with the railroad car thus bracketed and engagedthat said railroad car comes to lie on said first wall.

3. A vehicular tippler comprising a frame rotatable about alongitudinally extending horizontal axis, a first longitudinal wallrigid with said frame, a second longitudinal wall on said frametransversely spaced from said first wall and movable relatively thereto,a platform displaceably carried on said frame between said walls, saidplatform being provided with vehicle-supporting means, first hydraulicmeans for transversely displacing said platform on said frame towardsaid first wall until a vehicle carried thereon abuts said first wall,second hydraulic means for transversely displacing said second walltoward said first wall until said second wall abuts said vehicle,thereby bracketing the latter between said walls, clamping means on saidwalls displaceable thereon for engaging the vehicle so bracketed fromabove, third hydraulic means for lowering said clamping means intoengagement with said vehicle, and means for so rotating said frame withthe vehicle thus bracketed and engaged that said vehicle comes to lie onsaid first wall.

4. A railroad-car tippler comprising a frame rotatable about alongitudinally extending horizontal axis, a first longitudinal wallrigid with said frame, a second longitudinal wallon said frametransversely spaced from said first wall and movable relatively thereto,a platform displaceably carried on said frame between said walls, saidplatform being provided with longitudinally extending rails forsupporting a railroad car thereon, first hydraulic means fortransversely displacing said platform on said frame toward said firstWall until a railroad car carried thereon abuts said first wall, secondhydraulic means for transversely displacing said second wall toward saidfirst wall until said second wall abuts said railroad car, therebybracketing the latter between said walls, clamping means on saidwallsdisplaceable thereon for engaging the railroad car so bracketed fromabove, third hydraulic means for lowering said clamping means intoengagement with said railroad car, and means for so rotating said framewith the railroad car thus bracketed and engagled that said railroad carcomes to lie on said first wa 5. A tippler according to claim 4 whereinsaid third hydraulic means comprises a cylinder with an air cushionenabling limited yielding of said clamping means in response tosupporting-spring pressure tending to move the tilted railroad car awayfrom said platform.

6. -A tippler according to claim 4, further comprising check means forcorrelating the operation of all of said hydraulic means andinactivating any subsequently operable hydraulic means pendingcompletion of operation by a previously operable hydraulic means.

7. A tippler according to claim 6 wherein said check means comprisescontact switches on said walls actuatable by said railroad car.

8. A tippler according to claim 6 wherein said check means comprisesswitch means on said clamping means engageable by said railroad car. 9.A tippler according to claim 4, further comprising flow-control meansfor said first, second and third hydraulic means adapted to retard themotions of said platform, said second wall-and said clamping means.

It A tippler according to claim 4, further comprising valve means forblocking said first, second and third hydraulic means in their operatedpositions.

11.' A tippler according to claim 4, further comprising program meansestablishing a sequence of operation for all of said hydraulic means,and check means for inactivating said program means upon improperoperation of any of said hydraulic'means.

12; A tippler according to claim 4 wherein said clamping means comprisesa horizontal bar on each of said walls, said walls being provided'withslots transverse to said bar, levers positioned externally of said Wallsand connected with said third hydraulic means, and joint means linkingsaid levers with said'bar, said joint means passingthrough said slots.

13. A tippler according to claim 4 wherein said second wall is providedwith a parallelogrammatic linkage coupled with said second hydraulicmeans for maintaining parallelism between said walls during displacementof said second wall. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS758,191 Robertson Apr. 26, 1904 2,634,005 Criner et a1. Apr. 7, 1953FOREIGN PATENTS 1,048,227 Germany Dec. 31, 1958

1. A VEHICULAR TIPPLER COMPRISING A FRAME ROTATABLE ABOUT ALONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING HORIZONTAL AXIS, A FIRST LONGITUDINAL WALLRIGID WITH SAID FRAME, A SECOND LONGITUDINAL WALL ON SAID FRAMETRANSVERSELY SPACED FROM SAID FIRST WALL AND MOVABLE RELATIVELY THERETO,A PLATFORM DISPLACEABLY CARRIED ON SAID FRAME BETWEEN SAID WALLS, SAIDPLATFORM BEING PROVIDED WITH VEHICLE-SUPPORTING MEANS, FIRST OPERATINGMEANS FOR TRANSVERSELY DISPLACING SAID PLATFORM ON SAID FRAME TOWARDSAID FIRST WALL UNTIL A VEHICLE CARRIED THEREON ABUTS SAID FIRST WALL,SECOND OPERATING MEANS FOR TRANSVERSELY DISPLACING SAID SECOND WALLTOWARD SAID FIRST WALL UNTIL SAID SECOND WALL ABUTS SAID VEHICLE,THEREBY BRACKETING THE LATTER BETWEEN SAID WALLS, CLAMPING MEANS ON SAIDWALLS DISPLACEABLE THEREON FOR ENGAGING THE VEHICLE SO BRACKETED FROMABOVE, THIRD OPERATING MEANS FOR LOWERING SAID CLAMPING MEANS INTOENGAGEMENT WITH SAID VEHICLE, AND FOURTH OPERATING MEANS FOR SO ROTATINGSAID FRAME WITH THE VEHICLE THUS BRACKETED AND ENGAGED THAT SAID VEHICLECOMES TO LIE ON SAID FIRST WALL.